Five YA SFF titles where compassion is strength

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling author of The Guinevere Deception, The Camelot Betrayal, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, the Slayer series, the And I Darken trilogy, and many more novels.

At Tor.com she tagged five of her "favorite young adult novels in which compassion has the power to (re)shape the world," including:

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

“Why does everyone hate change so much?” I demanded.

“Because things could get worse.”

“Maybe. But do you know what I think?” My chest throbbed. “I think deep down, we’re afraid that things could get better. Afraid to find out that all the evil—all the suffering we ignore—could have been prevented. If only we had cared enough to try.”

This quote perfectly sums up Jordan Ifueko’s glimmering debut: she cares. Her characters care. Her heroine, Tarisai, wants nothing more than to be loved. But it’s not a selfish, hungry desire—she moves through the world extending the same love she hopes for. Amidst incredible powers, terrible empires, and life-or-death stakes, it’s the genuinely compassionate heart of friendship and hope that makes this novel come alive.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue